The 2 Hour Job Search - Book summary

The 2-Hour Job SearchBy Steve Dalton

Book Summary

Introduction● Before 1990s job search was simple process

○ Look for ad in newspaper

○ Mail resume and wait for reply

● Fast forward a decade, online job sites have

made “finding” job postings easy

● But Hiring managers don’t read all those

internet job applications!

● Employers rely on internal referrals to

decide whom to interview

Introduction● Pareto Principle - 80% of the results come

from 20% efforts

● Job search today requires three steps

○ Prioritize

○ Contact

○ Recruit

Pre-requisites for following book’s advice ● Spreadsheet software

● Email Program - Outlook etc.

● LinkedIn Profile

STEP 1 : Prioritize● The LAMP method

● L = List

● A = Alumni

● M = Motivation

● P = Posting

● This is method of prioritizing

target employers

STEP 1 : Prioritize

● Make list of target employers

● List to have 40 employers at

least, the more the better

● Most of the employers will be

eliminated along the way

LAMP (List)

STEP 1 : Prioritize

● How to select 40 employers

○ Divide in 4 parts

■ Dream employers

■ Alumni employers

■ Posting search

■ Trend-following

LAMP (List)

STEP 1 : Prioritize

● Dream Employers

○ Type any dream employers in L column

of spreadsheet

○ Better if dream employers share

common traits

○ Remember: Resist the urge to search

more about an employer at this stage,

confine only to the name.

LAMP (List)

STEP 1 : Prioritize

● Alumni Employers

○ Look for employers for which your

school’s alumni works.

○ Again target is to just get the ‘names’ ,

do not go further in researching , that

will come later.

○ Also, do not take alumni contact details

at this stage. Focus only on getting more

employer names.

LAMP (List)

STEP 1 : Prioritize

● Posting Search

○ Search indeed.com for job postings that

interest you.

○ Author finds indeed.com more

comprehensive than other job search

sites

○ Again, do not click further on postings

for details- just get the name of the

employers.

LAMP (List)

STEP 1 : Prioritize

● Trend following

○ Google trends in your target industry

○ Find out what employers are listed in

the articles that you find.

○ Read the articles at a macro level, skim

for employer names

LAMP (List)

STEP 1 : Prioritize

● TIP FOR INTERNATIONAL

STUDENTS

○ Check myvisajobs.com to find out which

employers offer H1B work authorization

○ Better if your LAMP list consists of such

organizations

LAMP (List)

STEP 1 : Prioritize

● In alumni database, search via

‘employer’ search field and find

out if there is anyone working

with your target employers.

● If yes, put “Y” in front of the

employer name in spreadsheet-

or else simply “N”

● Remember again, no further

research at this stage!

LAMP (Alumni)

STEP 1 : Prioritize

● Assign target employers in the L column a

qualitative score of 1 to 5, assessing your

motivation to approach each.

○ Award a score of 5 to targets you find

most motivating, followed by 4 and 3.

○ Score of 2 to employers with which you

are familiar but find least motivating

○ Score of 1 for employers you are

completely unfamiliar with

○ REMEMBER: NO research at this stage

also, if you don't know an employer do

not Google it, just award score of 1.

LAMP (Motivation)

STEP 1 : Prioritize

● Again search on indeed.com, but this time

search with employer name in search options

according to your LAMP List.

● Find out if relevant postings are available, or

● if not , find out if any postings are available.

● Award Score of 3/4/5 - if relevant posting for

employer are available.

● Award score of 2 - if any posting for that

employer

● Award score of 1 - if no posting at all

● AGAIN!! NO FURTHER CLICKS. No research.

Only see listings and fill in LAMP list

LAMP (Posting)

STEP 1 : Prioritize

● Once LAMP List is complete, use Excel to sort

the list in this order

○ Motivation - Larger to smaller number

○ Posting - Larger to smaller number

○ Alumni - reverse alphabetically (Z to A)

● Now Google employers with motivation score

of 1

● Not more than ONE MINUTE PER

EMPLOYER

● If you find employer interesting , increase

motivation score to 2 or 3 and reorder the list

again

WRAP UP

Final sorted list

STEP 2 : Contact (Boosters,Obligates and Curmudgeons)

● Naturalize means to convert a “N” to “Y” - If you don't

have an alumni in a particular organization, find

alternative starter contact!

● Start from top of the final LAMP list and focus on

employers with “N” in alumni column.

● Use following algorithm to convert “N” to “Y”

○ Most recent alumni database(already done)

○ LinkedIn (first degree/second degree

connections)

○ Facebook

○ Fanmail

○ Cold Calls

● Use email4corporations.com as needed

Naturalize


● LinkedIn

○ Search for Employer name in search options

○ First Degree Connections - people that you know, who are in your closest

network

○ Second Degree Connections - People who work in that company and know

someone in your first degree connection

○ Group connection - People who work in that company and are in one of your

joined groups

○ Third Degree Connection - People who work in that company and know

someone who knows someone in your first degree connections- Not much of a

help!

Naturalize


● LinkedIn

○ Once you find

contacts - write their

contact info and

name in email drafts,

not on the LAMP list

Naturalize


● Facebook

○ Post a status asking your

network if they know

anyone working in xyz

corporation?

Naturalize


● Fanmail

○ A.k.a Google Stalking

○ Google articles related to employer you want to

search for

○ Find out contact of employees interviewed or

mentioned in articles

○ Mail them telling you liked the article and

asking 15-20 minutes of their time to discuss

more

Naturalize


● Cold Calls

○ If all else fails, call main telephone

line

○ This is effective with smaller

companies with human

receptionists

Naturalize


● 5 point emails are

shorter,generic and more

effective

● First understand customer

segments of job search

process

The 5-Point Email


● Curmudgeons

○ They will never write you

back no matter how well

crafted your email is

○ Worst segment of

contacts

The 5-Point Email


● Obligates

○ Obligates are motivated by guilt - maybe

someone helped them during their time so

they’ll feel obligated to help you

○ However, they don’t actually want to help-

they’ll just try to relieve the guilt

○ Worse than Curmudgeons (who will never

reply so that you know he/she won’t help, no

further time wasted), while obligates may

reply sometimes(to ease off their guilt) and

then may never reply again.

The 5-Point Email


● Boosters

○ They love their job, they genuinely

enjoy helping people

○ They enjoy engaging with people

from their own school or those who

take interest in their job

○ Most helpful group of all

○ But in minority

The 5-Point Email


● 5-Point Email

○ 1. Fewer than 100 words

○ 2. No Mention of Jobs

anywhere

○ 3. Connection goes first

○ 4. Generalize your interest

○ 5. Maintain control of follow-up

The 5-Point Email


● Fewer than 100 words

○ More words mean

■ More grammatical errors

■ Accidentally alienate

booster with your word

choice/tone

○ Remember you’re targeting

Boosters- the shorter the better

The 5-Point Email


● No mention of Jobs anywhere

○ Because

■ It’s unnecessary(because

boosters know you’re

obviously looking for a job)

■ It’s intimidating

The 5-Point Email


● Putting connections first

○ Mention mutual contact in first

sentence

○ This will make booster to pay

attention to your email.

The 5-Point Email


● Generalize your interest

○ If you generalize your interest

in similar organizations while

writing to your booster(instead

of solely mentioning about his

company) -- your booster may

open up his network of other

companies in case there is no

job opening available at his firm

○

The 5-Point Email


● Maintain control of follow up

○ “I recognize this may be a busy time for you,

so if we are unable to connect by email I’ll

try to reach you next week to see if that is

more convenient,” you demonstrate several

key desirable traits.”

○ In this way, you demonstrate

■ Deference to their schedule

■ Commitment of making the

connection happen

■ Sense of urgency

The 5-Point Email


● The 3B7 Routine

○ Set two reminders in Outlook any time a

5-Point Email is sent to a new contact

■ Reminder #1: three business days later

■ Reminder #2: seven business days later

● If a response is received before Reminder #1 pops

up, you likely have found a Booster—schedule an

informational interview as soon as possible.

Track● If no response is received before

Reminder #1 appears, initiate outreach to

a second contact using the 3B7 Routine.

● If no response is received before

Reminder #2 appears, follow up with the

original contact.

○ Initiate contact with new target

employers beyond Top 5 whenever

a Booster has been identified, an

employer is ruled out, or time

permits.

STEP 3 : Recruit (Informational Interviews)

● Focus of informational interviews

○ To build rapport

○ To gain usable information

● Informationals is three step process

○ Small talk

○ Question and Answers

○ Next Steps

● “Selfless informational interviewer

is the best interviewer”

Research


● Carry out research to gain 80% info from

20% effort

○ Conduct external research.

■ See DataMonitor360 analysis

(when available)

■ Review positive headlines on

front page of target’s website.

■ Google both interviewer and

employer for any negative

headlines.

Research


● Internal preparations

○ The Big Three Questions : You should be

well prepared for these

■ “Tell me about yourself.”

■ “Why are you interested in our

company?”

■ “Why are you interested in our

industry and/or function?”

Research


● Phase 1 : Small Talk

○ Small talk should occur naturally, but

can be induced systemically if it does

not.

■ “How is your day going?”

■ “What are you working on?”

■ “What path did you follow to join

your employer?”

Discuss


● TIARA is the guide for Q&A:

● T = Trends

● I = Insights

● A = Advice

● R = Resources

● A = Assignments

Discuss


● TRENDS

○ “What trends are most impacting your

business right now?”

○ “How has your business changed most

since you started?”

○ “How do you think your business will

change most dramatically in the next

several years?”

Discuss


● INSIGHT QUESTIONS

○ “What surprises you most about your

job/your employer?”

○ “What’s the best lesson you’ve learned on the

job?”

○ “What’s been your most valuable experience

at your employer so far, and why?”

○ “If you had to attribute your success at your

employer to one skill or trait, what would it

be?”

Discuss


● ADVICE QUESTIONS

○ “What can I be doing right now to prepare myself

for a career in this field?”

○ “If I got hired, what should I be sure to do within

the first thirty days to ensure I get off to the fastest

start possible?”

○ “What do you know now that you wish you’d

known when you were my age or in my position?”

○ “If you were me, what would you be doing right

now to maximize your chance of breaking into this

industry or function?”

Discuss


● RESOURCE QUESTIONS

○ “What resources should I be sure to look

into next?” and alternatively:

○ “What next steps would you recommend

for someone in my situation?”

Discuss


● RESOURCE QUESTIONS

○ If your booster gives you relevant contacts

who you can contact - thats a jackpot

○ If he instead asks what kind of resources

you’re looking for, don’t directly ask for

contacts, and use following questions to get

information

■ “What resources—for example, websites,

blogs, or magazines—do you read

regularly to keep current on your

industry?”

Discuss


● ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS

○ “What project (or projects) have you done for

your employer that you felt added the most

value?”

○ “Have any projects increased in popularity

recently at your organization?”

○ “Have you had interns or contractors in the past?

If so, what sort of projects have they done?”

○ Answers to these questions useful in job

interviews where you can explain what sort of

project you can work on

Discuss


● Phase 3 : Next Steps

○ If a referral is offered, commit (and schedule)

yourself to follow up in two weeks.

○ If a referral is not offered, transition to

Two-Part Informational Closing.

■ 1. Ask if it is OK to reach out again?

■ 2. Set a reminder and reach out again,

follow any advice (if offered during initial

conversation) and mention it

Discuss“ Our time is up, but thank you so much for your time today—you’ve given me a lot to think about, and it sounds like you’re working for a great organization.

I’m going to take a few days to process all of the information you’ve shared. If, on reflection, it seems like your organization and I may make a good mutual fit, is it OK if I reach back out to you to get your recommendations for how best to proceed from here? “


● Set monthly reminders to update those with whom

you’ve conducted informational interviews.

○ i) First update email should recap advice given and benefits

gained, ending with a request for additional suggestions.

○ ii) Subsequent updates serve primarily to update contact on

your progress and request any additional suggestions.

● Time spent “harvesting” Boosters will grow as

progress is made, but should remain minimal

compared to outreach to new targets on LAMP list.

● Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until contacts lead to interviews

and employment!

Follow Up

THE 2 HOUR JOB SEARCH

By Steve Dalton

Book Summary

Career

The 2 Hour Job Search - Book summary